A Planet To Look After
by NeoVenus22
Summary: PROO. Various short, unrelated oneshot ficlets for Operation Overdrive. Formerly known as 'Shorts'. LATEST SHORT: 'Heartbeat'.
1. Girls Talk About Their Social Lives

NEW: Anyone paying attention might notice that this "story" was previously known as "Shorts" (and before that, "One At A Time"), and housed ficlets from various seasons of Power Rangers. For clarity's sake, I decided to break up all these ficlets and house different archives by season. "A Planet To Look After" is the archive for my Operation Overdrive ficlets.

Remember, these aren't chronological, aren't related to one another, and might not take place within the context of the season.

Questions, comments, concerns, and even requests can be sent to me NeoVenus22 at yahoo.

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Dedication: For Arrowned, he knows why.

Spoilers: 'Heart of Blue'

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me.

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**Girls Talk About Their Social Lives**

It wasn't as though Ronny didn't have her own bathroom at the estate. Se just liked Rose's better. Ronny's caught the morning sun through the small porthole at the very top of the wall, but bathrooms with windows freaked her out. Rose's bathroom was windowless. Rose's bathroom was also occupied with Rose, who was frowning at her reflection with intense concentration, a hairbrush clutched like a weapon.

To her credit, she didn't complain when Ronny stormed into the bathroom with a bucket of toiletries. She just met the Yellow Ranger's eyes in the mirror and said, "Should I do something with my hair?"

Ronny cocked her head to one side and studied both Rose's reflection in the mirror, and her dark hair from the back. "You know, no offense, but I never thought the headband did anything for you. You look much better with it up."

"Really?"

"Yep." Ronny took advantage of her height, grabbed the brush out of Rose's hand, and started whipping the Pink Ranger's hair into a calculatedly messy bun.

"It's funny," said Rose, standing perfectly still, "but I always thought you looked better with yours down, instead of back."

"Well, ponytails are much easier to manage when I'm doing stuff..." Ronny contemplated this. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Huh. Okay." She yanked one of her fistful of hair ties out of her bucket (cloth, not elastic, elastic snagged and trapped and hurt like hell), and finished off Rose's 'do. "There."

Rose studied it. "Looks good. Thanks."

"No problem. You know, I never really do this thing."

"What thing? The girly, do-each-other's hair, go to the bathroom in groups thing?"

Ronny laughed, surprised Rose had a sense of humor. "Yeah, that thing."

"Well, neither do I, really. So I won't tell if you won't."

"You've got yourself a deal." Ronny stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest and admiring her handiwork. "So, why the change of pace?"

"Oh," said Rose loftily, "you know. Something to do."

Which was total crap, because when Rose wasn't world-saving, training, looking up stuff with Mr. Hartford, or the occasional group-bonding session, she was crammed in her room with the door closed, working on her thesis thing. Rose didn't really have free time to kill with hairstyle contemplation.

"There's a _boy_," Ronny deduced, laughing.

Rose colored so her face matched her name, and Ronny's answer was totally there. "Who?" she demanded. "Gotta be one of the team, it's not like you ever leave here. Is it Dax?" She shook her head, dismissing this just as easily. "It's not Dax."

Rose seemed to relax a little, touched by amusement. "Why not?"

Ronny shrugged. "It's _Dax_. I mean, opposites attract, and all that, but I don't think you guys are even from the same _planet_." She pursed her lips thoughtfully, flicked a stray wisp of Rose's hair back from her brow. "Mack's too young. Besides, you'd need someone who can keep up with you mentally, a little."

"Oh, Mack might. He's not an idiot, you know."

"I never said he was an idiot. I just suggested that maybe he wasn't quite at your genius level. You're a genius, right?"

"According to that IQ test I took when I was ten, yes."

"I bet." Ronny made a sort of 'ew, nerds' face, and Rose giggled at the sheer absurdity of the expression. "See? But I still don't think it's Mack. That leaves Will."

"You know, a person is completely capable of deciding to experiment with her hair without having the ulterior motive of some clandestine relationship."

"So it _is_ Will!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Ronny."

"I mean, he's cute, too, if you like that whole cocky, egocentric, God's-gift-to-everything-ever type."

"Ronny..."

"I mean, that's not to say I haven't dated guys like that, so I can't judge. Hey, Eddie alone was... But that's neither here nor there," she cut in quickly. "I guess Will's got some stuff to be cocky about. I'm just saying I never would've pegged you for the type."

"Ronny!" Exasperated, the word seemed to explode out of her. Ronny blinked. "It's not Will."

Ronny twirled some curly hair around her finger, adding an extra sproing on release. She was actually pouting. "C'mon. At least tell me there's some potential for romance on the horizon."

"Unlikely!" scoffed Rose.

"I don't mean Will," Ronny said hastily. "If you don't want to. Just anyone, really. Makes things exciting, you know?"

"The life we lead isn't exciting enough for you?"

Ronny shrugged with a bright grin. "Hey, all action movies have romantic subplots. Wasn't Mira fun?"

Rose put on her best skeptical face. "When she was blowing us up, you mean?"

"Okay. Bad example. She was nuts squared. But Dax, Dax with a girlfriend was fun. What can I say? I like watching doofs in love. It's like all the fun of being in a relationship, without actually having to be in a relationship."

"Somehow, I don't think you're the person I should be going to for relationship advice."

Ronny clapped Rose's shoulder excitably. "Aha! So you're admitting you're in a relationship."

Rose shrugged off her attentions. "No."

"No you're not, or no you're not admitting?"

Rose laughed helplessly. The conversation was beginning to get confusingly circuitous. "Neither!"

"Okay, so you don't want to tell me. Fine. But I _will_ figure it out, you know."

"Uh-huh," said Rose. "Listen, are you in my bathroom for any real reason?"

"Oh yeah. I was gonna take a shower. Would you mind..?" she gestured at the door.

"If you're going to be in here all the time, have you ever considered switching rooms?"

"No way! I like my room. Besides, yours smells like some kind of library basement."

Rose didn't need to say anything; her face said 'whatever' clearly enough. She started for the door, but Ronny's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hey. Sorry to bug you about the guy... or lack thereof. Whichever. Your hair still looks good that way."

"Thanks," Rose said.

Mack was standing in front of the door when she left her bedroom. "Hey, I've been knocking for forever," he said. "Where've you been?"

"The bathroom."

"Okay. Have you seen Ronny?"

"Yeah," said Rose. "She's in the bathroom." In the recesses of her slightly cavernous quarters, she heard the shower start up. Rose closed the door to her room and joined Mack in the hallway.

He shook his head at her, bemused. "What's up with girls going to the bathroom together all the time?"


	2. Moving Forward

Spoilers: 'Once A Ranger' I and II.

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me.

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**Moving Forward**

Mack started at the unexpected rapping and turned around. Rose was standing at the entrance of his room, leaning against the doorframe. He hadn't realized she'd followed him up. "Hi."

"Hey," she said quietly. "Um."

"Is everything okay?" he asked. It was their first moment alone since he'd come to visit her at the college. He was trying not to think about the way she'd almost thrown herself at him. He was definitely trying not to think about the way he'd stupidly reciprocated.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest and Mack realized she was nervous. He didn't think Rose got nervous. He'd seen her kick some major Chiller butt without breaking a sweat, and he'd walked in on her lecturing a roomful of people, looking bored while she did it. Definitely not nervous.

"I just wanted to apologize," she said. "You know. For leaving."

"Right," he said, at a loss.

Rose seemed to misinterpret his non-answer as Mack writing her off. "It's just that I didn't really think there was a reason for me to stay, you know? Your dad's always had everything under control, and Mr. Park was good at the tech stuff too, so it wasn't like... I mean, there was really no..."

"You don't have to explain yourself," he cut in quietly. Exhausted, physically and mentally, he sat down on the edge of his bed. Rose hadn't really talked too much during the team meeting right before they'd all left. It was weird seeing this side of her, seeing the way she dismissed her own usefulness, when she was worth way more to the team than he was. "I mean... I would've left too, if this wasn't my house. Or if I'd had somewhere to go, something to do. This team," he said, knowing he was venturing into dangerous territory with the admission, "this team, you guys, it's all I've got. And it's great, don't get me wrong, but..." He shrugged, looked hopelessly at the hands folded in his lap. "I don't know."

"It was lonely?" she suggested.

"Yeah. I missed you. Guys," he covered quickly, when he realized his error. "I missed you guys."

If she'd caught his slip, she didn't give it away. Or maybe she just didn't understand what it meant. Either way, Rose just smiled at her shoes. "I know. Me too."

"You had something to do, at least," he said.

"It's hard to talk about complex scientific theories when you've gone out and done all the things we've done. I've spent a chunk of my life reading about things that were 'theories' and 'myths,' only to go and find out they were true. How can I go back and pretend like they're not?"

Mack didn't say anything. He knew she didn't mean to, and she probably didn't even realize she'd done it, but he couldn't help but feel more insignificant with her every word. He'd spend a few weeks lounging around, feeling useless in his own home all over again, but worse than ever. The new team was running off, joking around with his dad and Spencer, running off to save the world, and on top of that, Mack's own friends had gone back to their spectacular lives, leaving him to sweep the base and try not to feel like a stranger.

It didn't help that even with them back, he still felt like the odd man out. Too young, not as smart or as experienced, plus he had that healthy dose of nepotism working for him. He'd proven himself again and again, and knew he'd won their trust and respect, but sometimes...

"Hey Mack?"

He looked up sharply, having almost forgotten for a second that Rose was there. She hadn't moved from the doorway, but she was tense as though she wanted to. "Yeah?" he said, keeping his voice as neutral as he could manage.

"I'm glad you came looking for me first."

Mack nodded on the verge of a smile. It would've been easy to let the comment slide. It would have been safe to point out that she was the one with unrestricted access to a massive university library that would have exactly what he was looking for. But if nothing else, he'd learned that it never hurt to take chances.

"Well, you're the one I trust most with this sort of thing," he said carefully. All right, so maybe he wasn't taking leaping-off-a-cliff chances. "And I'm sorry I ran off on my own. It would've been much easier if the two of us had worked together." In between his moments of dogged determination to find Excelsior and help save the day, he'd danced around images of the two of them bent over a huge book, him working his way through the information while she translated it into regular English for him. It was funny, the things he took for granted.

"Next time," she said, with a small but genuine smile.

"Yeah," he agreed, prompted to his own grin. "There's always a next time, right?"

"Once a Ranger..."

"Even when teaching?"

"Even when sweeping," she retorted.

A silence fell over them, not uncomfortable, but somewhat pregnant. "You want to go get lunch or something?" he said.

Rose contemplated this and finally nodded. "All right, yeah."

"Okay." Mack got to his feet and gallantly waited for her to leave first. He thought he heard Ronny and Will down the hall playing a game at top volume, not to mention at the top of their lungs. "It's good having you guys back."

"Yes, that's why you're trying to get me out of the house," she teased with a smile that made him want to blush as red as the trim on his shiny suit. She surprised him, though, by continuing, "It's good to be back."

"I really did miss you," he said carefully, letting it hang there. She could interpret how she wanted, he decided. Rose was smart, she'd find what she was looking for. He'd deal with the consequences.

Rose linked her arm through his as they headed towards the door. "Yeah," she said again, but there was something a little different to her answer this time, something else. "Me too." Mack felt satisfied with the consequences.


	3. Tradition

Spoilers: 'Ronny On Empty II'

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me.

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**Tradition**

"Good morning, Mack," Tyzonn pronounced cheerfully, falling into his usual chair at the table. He glanced around and noted it was just the two of them. "Am I early or late?"

Mack was frozen with a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. When he spoke, it had the choked quality of shock and the inability to decide if he should laugh or not. "Hey... dude," he said slowly, and punctuated it with an unconvincing cough. "Uh, you're early."

"Cool," said Ty. "Any big plans for today? Other than saving the world, I mean."

"Nope." Mack flashed him a quick smile and cut off further conversation by shoving his spoon in his mouth. A drop of milk splashed on his chin.

"Morning, everyone!" Ronny said brightly, unconsciously leading Rose and Dax into the room. She leaned around Tyzonn to grab a banana from the fruit bowl. "Ty, way to keep rocking the holiday spirit!"

While Ronny went out of her way to avoid intruding on Ty's personal space, Dax made it a point of nudging Mack as he sat down. "Tyzonn, you do know Halloween's over, right?"

"Yes. But Will explained to me about the tradition where you keep wearing part of your costume for the rest of the week." Tyzonn frowned, monitoring the rest of them in turn. "Why aren't you guys wearing your costumes?"

A slow look passed between each of the other four as they each tried to figure out what exactly to say. Finally, all pairs of eyes landed on Rose, like they always did. She was their fount of information, after all.

"Well," began Rose slowly, all too aware of Tyzonn's habit of being unnaturally earnest and eager, and not particularly wanting to crush this spirit, even though he was operating on false information. "Um, in some cultures, the first of November is All Hallows' Day, or All Saints' Day, meant for celebrating the dead. But I'm pretty sure none of that has to do with still wearing..."

"And if it isn't my favorite Miss Kitty," interrupted Will loudly, coming up from out of nowhere, and taking hold of Rose's shoulders in a gesture that appeared casual but was decidedly a clench. "No ears today?"

"Halloween's over and so's the party," she said tightly, giving him a big 'I don't know what you're up to, but let me go or I'll hit you' grin.

Tyzonn watched the whole exchange with avid interest, eyes so wide that the whites filled up the eyeholes in the sparkly green mask he hadn't taken off from the evening before.

"Is everyone ready for breakfast?" asked Spencer, cutting through the tension as easily as he wielded the butter knife in hand. "I see Master Mack has already eaten."

Mack's spoon clattered in his empty bowl and he grinned. "Yep, and ready for round two."

"You have the metabolism of a ten-year-old," Ronny remarked.

"He has the≈" Will began, but he jerked suddenly. Mack hadn't moved an inch, but the twist of Will's lips lent credence to the idea that a foot had made contact with Will's knee under the table.

"Don't finish that."

"You don't know what I was gonna say!"

"It doesn't even matter. I can guess. Don't finish it."

"Shall I separate you?" asked Spencer flatly, laying a plate of toast down. Breakfast time always made him cranky, something to do with dealing with six unfed and unawake Rangers. "Master Tyzonn, dare I inquire why you are still wearing a mask?"

"For Halloween," Tyzonn said with innocent obliviousness, as this was a completely ridiculous question with a completely obvious answer.

"Ty parties hard," said Ronny fondly. "Some people could do with a little more enthusiasm around here..."

"Funny," said Rose in the same strangled voice, "I was thinking some people could do with a little less."

Will appeared to be at the intersection of both girls' glares.

Tyzonn leaned forward to grab a slice of toast and munched at it happily, wispy blond bangs dancing back and forth and making the sequins in his mask sparkle.

Will just grinned at the table at large. "I don't know what you're talking about."


	4. Driving Lessons

Disclaimer: No one mentioned belongs to me.

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**Driving Lessons**

Ronny had just uncovered the TV remote (hidden between couch cushions - thanks, Mack) when Dax bounded into her periphery. "Hey, Ronny," he said brightly.

Not to be deterred, she flicked the television on anyway, switched to ESPN, but put it on mute to be polite. "Hi Dax, what's up?"

"I was thinking about adding more stuff to my resume. My actor's resume." She glanced over in mild interest. "You know, you list your agency, your credits, your training, your special skills..."

"Special skills," she said with as little emotion as she could manage. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, but decided to let it play out for itself.

"Yeah," he said with enthusiasm. "Things that could give you an edge over other actors auditioning. Things like languages spoken, accents you can do, and special skills, like salsa dancing, horseback riding..."

"Race car driving?" she guessed.

Dax beamed at Ronny as if it were her genius idea. "Exactly."

She shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Come on! Are you really going to deny me the chance to get some really great roles, based on my superb skills, taught to me by circuit darling Ronny Robinson?"

Flattery was not going to work on her today. "They have stunt drivers for that sort of thing, you know."

"Ronny," he said, with utter seriousness and the slightest twinge of patronization, "I am a stunt driver."

She blinked at him impassively until he amended, "Okay, not _yet_. But I _could_ be. With your help."

"Dax."

"Please? C'mon. I already have the 'stunt' part down, and you're the 'driver' part... You don't think it sounds fun? I mean, Ronny, when was the last time you were even behind the wheel? Not since you started saving the world, right?"

He did have a point, she admitted reluctantly. Thrilling as the Zords or flying the S.H.A.R.C. might have been, Ronny was a racer at heart. She loved wheels on pavement, the roar of an engine, the way a helmet fit, the way a car siphoned out useless noise so you only heard what you wanted, the thrill of taking a tight turn, and a definitive win, with a finish line and trophy. Thing about Rangering was, even if they won for the day, it was just for the day.

And Dax was right. She hadn't been in a car in forever.

"All right," she sighed. "But you have to promise me that you're coming with your game face on. No whining, no complaining, and you do absolutely everything I tell you without asking questions."

He saluted. "Yes ma'am." Still, she could tell how incredibly pleased he was. Ronny couldn't help but feel good about it.

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Dax was a lot of things, Ronny reminded herself with waning patience. He was funny, even if she had the suspicion he didn't always mean to be, and he was sweet, kind, energetic, and fun. She had to recite these positive qualities to herself in an increasingly agitated loop, because for all of these things, there were things he wasn't. Like a good driver. Or a good listener. Or a good student.

Ronny had always had her doubts that she was a great teacher, but Dax was a lousy student. He was bouncy and fidgety as a four-year-old, and had the annoying habit of skipping ahead a few steps without first completing the one he was one. It was like climbing up four rungs on a ladder without unfolding it first.

"Ease up on the clutch," she cautioned him, although it didn't much matter what she said. Any word that came out of her mouth was punctuated by the car lurching unpleasantly.

"Dax!" she said, as the car jolted again and her stomach bounced in feeble protest. She suddenly recalled bouts of motion sickness when she was younger, in the junky old station wagon her father liked to drive in the triple digits down twisty, hilly back roads. He'd had a ball, and Ronny had learned it was only fun if you were the one doing the driving.

"What?" said Dax obliviously. The car stuttered to an abrupt stop and lay in the road like a dead cat.

"Have you ever even drove before?"

"Of course I have."

"Standard or automatic?" she prompted.

Dax stared for a long moment. "Which one's the one where you don't have to switch gears?"

"Dax!"

"Hey, if I'd told you, you never would've agreed to help me," he defended himself.

Well, that was infallible logic. "Okay, so I probably wouldn't have. But Dax, I'm not exactly a qualified driving instructor," she pointed out. "And at the rate we're going, we're probably gonna end up breaking one of Mr. Hartford's cars."

"He's got others," said Dax dismissively. "Besides, you can fix 'em right up."

"Even so. Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Ronny, I'm not looking to get my license renewed or anything like that. I just want to learn how to drive a race car from the third ranked driver in the nation."

"Second," she corrected automatically, and found herself smiling a little bit. "I still don't think this is a great idea. This is me we're talking about, after all. And you know I'm going to be short-tempered and competitive and impatient."

Dax shrugged, nonplussed. "Well, yeah. That's why I asked you. I knew you wouldn't let me do anything but my best."

A warm sort of pride exploded in Ronny's stomach, taking her by surprise. He'd somehow managed to take all her faults --faults she admittedly knew she had, but wasn't too keen on broadcasting to her friends-- and turn them into a sort of good thing. Something he needed. Something she was pleased and proud to give.

"Of course I won't." Ronny grinned at him, the reckless grin she'd always flashed her pit crew right before the race, the sort that was accompanied by a revving engine. She'd been told the teeth baring and the roar of the car made her seem like a lion about to strike. She'd always liked that. "Now start this baby up and let's do this for real."


	5. Pickpockets

Request: PROO, Will/Ronny

Disclaimer: No one mentioned belongs to me.

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**Pickpockets**

Will was hovering in the doorway, blocking Ronny's exit. She quirked a small smile at him as she brushed past, but their proximity caused her to stumble slightly. She knocked against his chest for balance and murmured a contrite, "Sorry."

Will shook his head and intercepted her wrist as she tried to leave the room. "That sucked."

Ronny huffed and jerked her hand free. "That did not suck. That was textbook."

"I felt your hand!"

"You only felt my hand because you were trying to feel my hand. If you were an average person on the street, you would not have felt my hand."

"Try it again," he said.

"Oh, come _on_, Will! I'm already as good at this as you. Better, probably. You're just jealous."

Will's grin was impossibly wide. "Jealous? Um, hardly. Of your driving skills, maybe ≈not that I'm exactly a slouch in that department, thank you very much≈" Ronny felt compelled to roll her eyes. "≈but you might remember I used to do this for a living. And I'm the best there is."

"The best, huh," she echoed, but her response lacked venom. It was a little difficult to resist that smile (that was the whole point, right?), and his hand was over hers again, extracting the prop wallet she was holding.

"Yep," he said easily, fingers on the inside of her wrist, "the best." He smiled brighter. "You wanna try this again?"

"All right, bring it." Ronny smirked at him, confident in her abilities (well, she had learned from the best, after all).

Will tucked the prop wallet back inside his unzipped jacket, and she started over: 'accidentally' falling against him, brushing his chest with her hand, scooping the wallet out of his interior pocket, muttering a breathy, rehearsed apology.

"That sucked, too," Will said, looking far too amused. "I completely felt your hand that time."

"That time, you were supposed to," she answered.

Will grinned.


	6. These Are Our Daily Dares

Challenge: PROO, Andrew/Rose

Spoilers: 'Once a Ranger' I and II

Disclaimer: No one mentioned belongs to me.

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**These Are Our Daily Dares**

"I always assumed you were a neat freak," Andrew said, amusement tinging his voice as he eyed the books piling every which way. They lay open across her bedspread, grouping together like butterflies in a garden.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say 'freak,'" Rose murmured, the words slurring slightly around the pen jammed in the corner of her mouth. She pulled it out long enough to wedge some notes in between the thick mass of scribbles already on her notebook page.

"Either way, this is beginning to look like Mack's room."

"Somehow I doubt Mack has any books on quantum mechanics." Rose capped the pen and tucked it behind her ear. She was wearing her hair down for once, no ties or headbands anywhere. It was starting to get a bit long, which was nice.

Andrew grinned. "So what are you working on?"

"Studying the UMG. Adam and Alpha left me some of their notes. I need to be better acquainted with the grid, maybe this time we won't have a problem."

"That's not your fault. You didn't know they'd be able to sever the Rangers' connection." He frowned, sat down, scooped a book into his lap and stared at the pages. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I should have better prepared the team for something like this. Maybe if I'd dealt with it better, no one would've left."

"I couldn't exactly stay." With him sitting on the bed, and her standing next to him, their heights almost matched up for once. "With Mack around..."

She was right. If Rose wasn't still a Ranger, she had no real reason to stay. Except for Andrew. Which Mack would've figured out.

Rose graced his shoulder with her warm touch, smoothing her fingers over his shirt. "We could tell him," she offered thoughtfully. "Them."

"I am tired of keeping things from Mack," he said. It was a statement that was maybe a little too revealing, he realized too late. Was it his imagination, or was Rose frowning at him? She had no way of knowing the absolute truth, and his anxiety was assuaged when she bent in to kiss his cheek.

"Maybe you're right, though," she said. "Maybe we should wait to tell him. Things are sort of stressful around here right now; I don't want to make things worse."

'Make things worse.' It was hard not to let that phrase turn itself over in his mind, hard not to say what he was thinking: "This isn't a mistake, is it? You and me."

"No," she said definitively. "This is one thing that never was."


	7. Heartbeat

Spoilers: 'Both Sides Now'

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me.

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**Heartbeat**

Want was not an alien feeling for Miratrix. She desired many things, mostly power and all associated with it, but it had been a long time since one of the things she desired was not a what, but a whom.

The Black Ranger had a powerful sensuality to him. Grace and power and pride, not to mention a stunning level of confidence. And that smile. He disarmed her, in a way that terrified her.

"Morning, sunshine," drawled the Black Ranger, voice dripping with charm as he came up behind her. Miratrix swore she could feel the pulse of his blood, the same beat as her own. "Didn't start without me, did you?"

Miratrix shot him an icy glare, hoping he wouldn't recognize how hard she had to push to remain cold. "Don't sneak up behind me."

"Who's sneaking?" he grinned, throwing up his hands. "Just coming over to check on my partner." He eyed her. "Partner."

A thrill raced down Miratrix's spine, the side effect of his scrutiny, both of which she tried fiercely to ignore. The air seemed thick. She struggled to grasp a biting response from the recesses of her brain, but couldn't manage. It didn't matter. The Ranger wasn't done speaking.

"So, what'd I miss?"

"I was just reading some of your planet's mythology. Not all of these things are myth. These people are real, these objects truly exist. And your stupid planet passes them off as stories for children."

Miratrix expected him to rise to the bait, to defend his planet and his people, and his stupid little traditions. She expected the Black Ranger to live up to her idea of what humans were really like, but he just beamed. "You know what I like about mythology?" he practically purred. "All those strong, beautiful, _powerful_ women."

She felt the smile curving her lips before she could stop it. "So you like power, do you?"

"Would I be here if I didn't?"

"The Rangers are trying to assemble the Corona Aurora, too," she pointed out.

"Yes, but that's a power that's going to be split a lot of ways. I'd like a bigger slice of pie." Then the Black Ranger's grin grew, his eyes darkening as his gaze followed her. "Besides, my partnering up with you offers a lot of other... benefits."

"I don't think I like what you're implying," Miratrix said. She wondered if she was losing all sense of good judgment where he was concerned, but from the moment he'd swept into her life, all charm bordering slightly on smarm, she was drawn to him.

Even though she knew better.

Even though she didn't trust him.

The Ranger shrugged. "Just saying, working alongside a beautiful woman is never a bad thing." His fingers brushed her arm, and the electric shock that buzzed across her skin and down her spine was the answer, the thing that trumped logic or even gut instinct. It was want, pure and simple.

Miratrix flashed him a smile. "You flatter me."

"I'm trying to." He stepped up to her again. Proximity was his weapon, almost as though he could hear the way it made her heart pound. "Is it working?"

"We have work to do," she said. "Stones to find and Rangers to fight."

"All work and no play makes Miratrix a dull girl," he said. "Have you considered taking a break? Maybe getting some fresh air, not spending all your time plotting in a cave?"

"You're not... asking me out, are you?" said Miratrix, frowning as she remembered her brief non-romance with Dax. It had been quaint, in that Earth sort of way, even if it had ultimately all been for a greater purpose. But she hadn't hated it. She could even conceivably do it again.

"Now Miratrix," he said, and this time he stepped so close that she temporarily forgot that breathing was necessary to survival. Yes, she could very conceivably see herself going anywhere with him, doing anything with him. "Do I strike you as the sort of guy who would mix business and pleasure?" He lowered his mouth to hers, and they both had their answer.


End file.
